Chapter 4: FederalismPowers Divided

Federalism:• A system of government in

which a written constitution divides the powers of government on a territorial basis, between a central government and several regional governments

• In the United States, the design of this system is spelled out in the Constitution. It calls for a division of powers (assigns certain powers to the National Government and reserves others for the States) between the National Government, and the governments of the 50 States.

Divisions of PowerExpressed Powers

Reserved Powers

Concurrent Powers

Expressed (or Enumerated) Powers• Enumerated powers are powers that belong solely to the

Federal Government.• The Federal government has delegated powers, which are

powers delegated to it in the Constitution.• Expressed Powers: powers spelled out specifically to the

National Government in the Constitution.• Implied Powers: powers that are not specifically stated in the

Constitution, but they are reasonably suggested. • *What clause in the Constitution gave the National Government

these implied powers?• Inherent Powers: powers that belong to the National

Government because it is the national government of a sovereign state un the world community. The Constitution does not expressly provide for them, but they are powers that national governments over time have come to possess.

Federal Government

Delegated Powers:ExpressedImplied Inherent

Reserved Powers• The 10th Amendment of the Constitution says this: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”• So, reserved powers are powers that the

Constitution does not give to the National Government, and at the same time, does not deny to the states. These are powers that belong solely to the States

Federal Government

Enumerated PowersExpressed

ImpliedInherent

Reserved Powers

State Government

Concurrent Powers• Concurrent Powers are powers that both

the National and State Governments possess and exercise.

• These powers are powers that the Constitution mentions, but does not grant exclusively to the National Government, and also does not deny the State governments of it.

• These powers are what make it possible for a federal system of government to function.

Federal Government State

Governments

Expressed (or

Delegated)PowersExpressed

ImpliedInherent

Reserved Powers

Concurrent

Powers

Why Federalism?• When the Framers of the Constitution met in

Philadelphia in 1786, they faced a number of difficult questions. • How could they possibly create a new central government that

would be strong enough to meet the needs of the day and would, at the same time, preserve the already existing States?

• Few of the Framers favored a strong central government based on the British model, and all of them knew that the Revolutionary War had been fought in the name of local self-government.

• They also knew that the government established under the Articles of Confederation had proved too weak to deal with the new nation’s many problems.

Thus, Federalism was born!

• While the Framers favored a stronger central government, they also knew the importance of limiting powers.

• They were convinced that • Governmental power inevitably poses a threat to

individual liberty• Therefore, the exercise of governmental power

must be restrained• That to divide governmental power, as federalism

does, prevents the abuse of a central government’s power

Two Opposing Sides…Federalists

• These were people who supported the ratification of the Constitution and were in favor of Federalism

• These people wanted a strong central government, because the Articles of Confederation proved that giving the States too much power does not work.

Anti-Federalists• These were people who

opposed the ratification of the Constitution, and mostly, Federalism.

• These people wanted more power given to the states, and they did not want too much power given to the federal government, and wanted a bill of rights.

VS.

Federalism• Each of the basic levels of government has its own

substantial set of powers. Neither level, acting alone, can change the basic division of powers The Constitution has created.

• Also, each level of government operates through its own agencies and acts directly through its own officials and laws.

Governor

Federalism• Federalism’s major strength lies in this central

fact: It allows local action in matters of local concern and national action in matters of wider concern.

• Federalism also allows for experimentation and innovation in solving public policy problems.

• While federalism allows individual states to handle State and local matters, it also provides for the strength that comes from union. • For example, in the event of a natural disaster, the

resources of the national Government and all of the other States can be mobilized to aid the stricken area or State.

The Supremacy Clause• The Framers anticipated

conflicts between national and State law; Which one prevails over the other?

• So, they included the Supremacy Clause into the Constitution. It declares that“This Constitution, and the laws of the United States… shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.”

How does the “disastrous result”

illustrate the Supremacy Clause?

The Supreme Court and Federalism• The Supreme Court is the

“umpire” in the federal system. • One of its chief duties is to apply

the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause to the conflicts that the dual system of government will inevitably produce.

• McCullough v. Maryland: The Second Bank of the U.S. was created by Congress, and the Maryland legislature hoped to cripple the bank by putting a tax on all notes issued by the Baltimore branch. The teller, James McCulloch, refused to pay the tax.

Chief Justice John Marshall ruled“The states have no power… to impede,

burden, or in any manner control, the operations of

the constitutional laws enacted by Congress.”

The National Government and the 50 States

• In Article IV, the Constitution places many obligations on the National Government for the benefit of the States.

• The Constitution requires the National Government to guarantee every state in the Union with a “Republican Form of Government.”• The Constitution does not define

what a “Republican form of Government is, and the Supreme Court has refused to do so. It is generally understood to mean a “Representative Government.”

• The Constitution also states that the National Government must protect each of the States from an invasion and internal disorder

• The National Government is also constitutionally bound to respect and recognize the legal existence and physical boundaries of each State.

Admitting New States• Only Congress has the

power to admit new states into the Union, and the Constitution only places one restriction on that power:• A new state cannot be

created by taking territory from one or more existing States, without the consent of the legislatures of the States involved. • But what about the State of

West Virginia?

Admission Procedure• The area desiring statehood

asks Congress for admission. If and when Congress chooses, it passes an Enabling Act:• An act directing people the people

of the territory to frame a proposed State constitution.

• If Congress still agrees to Statehood after reviewing the proposed constitution, it passes an Act of Admission:• An act of creating the new State

• If the President signs the act, the new State enters the Union.

• Each state enters the Union on an equal footing with each of the other States, and although Congress can pass certain conditions, it cannot impose conditions of a political nature.

Cooperative Federalism• The American federal system is much like a tug-

of-war, a continuing power struggle between the National Government and the States.

• The American federal system has such a broad area of shared powers, and this is a growing area of cooperation between he two.

Cooperative Federalism: Grants-in-aid

• One of the most known examples of this cooperation is something called a federal grants-in-aid programs.• Grants of federal money or other resources to the States and their

cities, counties, and other local units. These grants help them perform a large share of their everyday functions.

• There are 3 types of grants-in-aid: categorical grants, block grants, and project grants. • Categorical Grants are made for some specific or closely defined

purpose, for example, funding school lunch programs or improving mass transit systems.

• These grants are usually made with strings attached. They require the State to (1) use the money only for the specified purpose, (2) make its own monetary contribution, often a matching amount, (3) provide an agency to administer the grant, (4) obey specific guidelines tailored to the purpose for which the money is given.

Grants-in-aid (cont’d.)• Block Grants are made for much more broadly

defined purposes than the categorical grants, and have fewer strings attached.• For example, healthcare, social services, or welfare.

• Project Grants are grants that are made to States, localities, and sometimes private agencies that apply for the grants.

Interstate Relations• The Constitution says that no State can enter into

an treaty, alliance, or Confederation.• However, the States can enter into Interstate

Compacts:• Agreements among themselves and with foreign states

• For example, New York and New Jersey created a pact known as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey that manages the harbor facilities bordering both states.

• Other pacts have covered things like the development and conservation of resources such as oil, wildlife, water, and fish; the effects of global climate change; and the cooperative use of public universities.

Full Faith & Credit• Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution says “Full

Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other state.”• The term “public acts” refers to the laws of a state.• “Records” refers to documents like birth certificates,

marriage licenses, deeds to property, car registrations, etc. • “Judicial proceedings” refer to the outcome of court

actions, like probating of wills, divorce decrees, damage awards, etc.

• The Full Faith and Credit Clause states that each State needs to honor the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state.

• This often comes up in court matters.

Full Faith and Credit Clause• There are two notable exceptions to this rule. • First, it only applies to civil, not criminal matters. One

state cannot enforce another State’s criminal law.• Second, full faith and credit need not be given to certain

divorces granted by one state to residents of another State. • A key question is always this: Was the person who

obtained the divorce a resident of the State that granted it? If so, the divorce will be accorded full faith and credit in other States.

Extradition• The Constitution makes provisions for those who

flee to another State to avoid punishment for a crime.

• Article IV, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution provides for extradition, the legal process by

which a fugitive from justice in one State can be returned to the State. • This is designed to prevent a person from escaping justice by fleeing a State.

Privileges and Immunities• The Constitution also protects citizens who move

between the States. • The Privileges and Immunities Clause states that

no State can draw unreasonable distinctions between its own residents and those persons who happen to live in another State.

• Each State must recognize the right of any American to travel in or become a resident of that state.

• It must also allow any citizen, no matter where he or she lives, to use its courts, and make contracts (buy, own, rent, or sell property; marry within its borders)

Privileges and Immunities• However, a State cannot do things, like try to

relieve its unemployment problems by requiring employers to hire in-state residents first. (Hicklin v. Orbeck)

• But, the Privileges and Immunities Clause does allow States to draw reasonable distinctions between its own residents and those of other States. For example, a State can require that a person live within the State for a certain amount of time before he or she can vote or hold public office.

The End!